Chapter 88: Lemniscate Causality
General Pallax walked through the empty chrome halls of a fortified base that was in the sky, which was only one of several gyroscopic mag rail stations. Each of such stations were necessary to keep the sky rings afloat and orbiting above Kiln's atmosphere. A stern frown was plastered onto Pallax's face during his stroll through the silver-mirrored hallways. He always took a scenic walk when he needed to get his thoughts together, especially when he decided to talk to the commanding officer that's above him in terms of leadership. It always worked in his favor to speak to Emperor Gollog with a calm disposition and a level head. To speak to him with any visible weakness or doubt would make Gollog grow suspicious of the gilanians that run his empire, and any of his servants that serve him and his military. For an hour did Pallax contemplate on how he wanted to talk to Gollog. By the time Pallax reached Gollog's office, his mind was set and determined to press on the issue he wanted to discus.
As General Pallax entered through Gollog's regal office, he saw that his emperor was pacing back-and-forth in front of several holographic surveillance monitors, next to an array of windows that slowly rotated its vista to reveal the surface of Kiln. Another bad sign that Pallax couldn't help but take note of. In truth, Pallax knew many of the social and behavioral quirks that Gollog is driven by. Any pattern that was analyzed from simply how a person stands told a wealth of information to Pallax. The general of Golden Star's four armies was not only a tactical genius, but also a perceptive analyst.
A simple cough broke the silent sounds of pattering feet within Gollog's office. Gollog stopped to turn to Pallax in annoyance. "Mm? ... Ah. Pallax. It is good to see you again."
Pallax bowed before his emperor. "The artificial gravity might take some getting used to, but the sky rings are serviceable to my needs."
Gollog gently smiled as he walked toward Pallax, doing so while spreading his arms out and baring his palms to him. "Come now, my general. We both know that you only ever grace me with your presence like this when something is on your mind. I am surprised you aren't celebrating with your men."
Pallax shook his head. "I won't allow to inebriate myself. I am a general first and foremost."
Gollog nodded. "Your dedication is quite admirable. I would wish to have a hundred more like you."
Pallax smirked, but that smirk quickly faded. "But even so, my lord, I have concerns as of late."
Gollog sighed. "I see." Gollog turned away and looked at the large window, which was now showing a blackened space. In the distance, Gollog could see tiny, faded clouds of beige, green, and purple. As Gollog stared at the distant threat of growing zerg, he continued his conversation with his general. "Then list them to me."
Pallax stood up and joined his emperor. "I was reviewing the broadcast you made about our victory against the Zerg Swarm. You were somewhat... despondent at the end of the announcement."
"How so?" Gollog said, barely turning as he asked.
"Your smile faded completely when you turned away from the camera. It looked like you were contempt about something." Pallax answered.
"Mm." Gollog turned back to the window.
"... Since you didn't deny my observation, I can assume there is something still on your mind." Pallax pressed.
A long pause passed before Gollog sighed once more before he turned to Pallax fully. "My nemesis stated something before he melted in the rain. Come. I have recorded our last conversation, just before the moment of his demise." Gollog led Pallax to the holographic screens that displayed several images at once. He gestured to one of them. "Sky Ring Computer Artificial Intelligence, playback the recording I labeled 'Vainglory of Kay'."
And with that command issued, a memory of the past began playing.
Kay waited for a few seconds. He then felt a small, warm tingle dancing on his hand. The warmth then became pain. Kay looked down at his hand and saw that it was developing several pores in his hand's flesh and carapace, which also turned gray in color. Upon understanding the danger, Kay quickly reached up and used his psionic power to enlarge the telekinetic barrier that prevented the neon rain from landing onto him. But he could feel the muscle, skin, carapace, and even bones in his hand, becoming incredibly painful as time went on. Despite his fortitude, his zerg regeneration wasn't able to negate the decay that the neon rain caused. The painful graying of his flesh continued past his wrist and threatened to reach his forearm. "Gr, dammit!" Kay ended up having to remove the infection with his other uninfected hand, using it to sever his graying forearm from his elbow. "What the hell kind of radiation is this?!"
Gollog bellowed a laugh. He held an open palm to the sky and collected the neon rain that fell. Once Gollog had collected enough water, he then attempted to splash the water onto Kay. The neon water splashed harmlessly away, since Kay's telekinetic field prevented it from drenching him. "Don't you see it now, Kay? The potential? The dangerous capability that this radiation has? Once this water seeps into the sands of Kiln, we will wait out your extinction. If there are any of your nests still alive after doomsday, then we will send the Kiln Keepers to deal with the rest of your surviving zerg, and any other nonaligned gilanian survivors."
Kay hissed at Gollog with wild eyes. "You don't care about the people still on this planet?! But they are your people! Your race!"
Gollog's smile widened as he sighed at Kay. "They are less than animals, Kay. They are disloyal and selfish, with no ambition and duty to me. They do not even deserve a firing squad! But once the radiation levels recede, my empire will sow its seeds into a new paradise. One that will never have to disobey my wishes ever again. For all I care, genocide is but a small price to pay for gaining a perfect world where no opposition can ever oppose you ever again. And you... Oh ho-ho-ho-ho-ho... I get to have the privilege to watch you slowly die." Gollog said, as he collected another handful of neon rainwater. Then, from under Kay's feet, a blast of energy disrupted Kay's concentration.
Gollog brought his irradiated water-filled fist down onto Kay in a terrible pounding attack. Kay felt his body flattening from the attack, but he managed to remain conscious from the blow. However, his telekinetic field was disrupted, which allowed the neon to freely fall upon his broken form. ".. Guh... Gr... Grah... Uh... Huah... Huah... Hah... Hah-hah... Hah-ha-ha..."
Gollog leaned down toward Kay on his right hand's palm with an amused eyebrow raised. "Hmm~? Are you laughing? Have I truly broken your soul? Ah, what a momentous occasion! Tell me, my old enemy I never came to know in person until today. Tell me what has made you vexed into expelling this fit of laughter? I wish to learn of your last thoughts."
"Hahahahaha, you really think you've killed me?!" Kay chortled as his body tried to mend against the neon rain's toxic radiation. The boosted healing that he forced onto his body repaired some of the damage, but all it did was buy him some time.
Gollog sighed. "Don't delude yourself. Once your body gives out, then you will perish. Like the rest of my remaining enemies."
Kay chuckled and coughed. "Then you're so stupid to think that I can't return from this death. It's just like you said, Gollog. 'You, and every fool that thinks otherwise, cannot kill an immortal.'"
Gollog reared his head back in surprise and confusion.
Kay bared a wide grin at Gollog, even when his body was becoming ash-colored all over. "I will not be defeated, because this is not the end. I will see you again."
After a few seconds had passed, Kay laid his head back and exhaled his last breath on Gollog's hand. His body grew cold, as the last ounces of warmth became a chilling breeze. His flesh became stiff and brittle, becoming less and less as the irradiated rain continued to soak his hollow corpse. His life had dwindled to a spark, and then went out like a candle finally burning out. Gollog crushed the body that had once contained Kay's consciousness, and then allowed the ash and dust to fall from his hand, or be washed away by the neon-green rain.
Gollog sighed as the recording ended. "And that was what had transpired in this moment of recorded time." Gollog turned to Pallax, as though eager to learn what opinion he might have had.
Pallax pointed at the recording on the screen. "Skrico, play that again." Pallax told the artificial intelligence of the sky rings to repeat the recording several times before Pallax was satisfied with his analysis. Once he was done, Pallax turned to Gollog. "He's not dead."
Gollog shook his head and slightly hissed. "Oh he's very much dead. I saw to that. However, what irked me the most was during the end of our conversation. I would have assumed he was just trying to bluff his way out. That, or he knew that I was going to kill him and he decided to make his parting words as scathing as he could, making me think that his death wasn't consequential to him."
Pallax sighed as he pinched the bridge of his snout. "Okay... Let me rephrase my statement. You may have killed him, but you haven't defeated him."
Gollog's face contorted into a puzzled expression. He did a double-take to Pallax and to the screen before settling his stare on his general. "I think I am missing something here."
"Faddoh's research notes on the zerg organisms stated that each organism has the ability to share their individual traits with either their own caste, or to the entire amalgamating swarm. Essentially, each zerg organism is able to produce an ENO field that contains genetic information of itself. Other zerg organisms would then absorb the ENO field frequencies and biologically decipher the genetic information, which they will then use to alter their own genetic makeup." Pallax then turned to Gollog. "But if you consider what Kay had stated before he died, it would redefine how ENO fields affect the zerg in their own tangential manner."
Gollog was still puzzled by this new information. "In what way?"
Pallax fought the urge to roll his eyes. He then gestured to the other screens that monitored several surveillance feeds. "Think about it. If the zerg ENO fields could transmit DNA from one organism to another in scant seconds, applying the mutations that one organism had developed to several others, then it wouldn't be farfetched to assume that not only could DNA be transmitted through the ENO fields, but words could be transmitted as well. The ENO field sensor network even picked up a conversation between two individuals, one that is named 'Virid', and the other being named 'Kay'. Even with this in mind, we already know that ENO fields are not only transmitting DNA, but also commands and conversations. However, I posit that not only DNA, commands, and words are transmitted through the zerg's ENO fields, but also thoughts. And when I say 'thoughts', I specifically mean memories, experiences, knowledge, skills, and ideas. This would mean that the person you have killed may have been Kay at one point, but if he had the ability to move his mind and consciousness to a new vessel, then he would have done so through the ENO fields. If he is able transfer his consciousness to a new body, it would mean that the zerg are far more harder to kill than we had initially expected."
Gollog, despite being an albino emperor, paled when he began to understand what Pallax conveyed to him. He then turned to the wide window and scratched at his chin in thought, staring at Kiln as it came into view once again. "Hmm..."
Pallax tilted his head at his emperor. "... Sir?"
Gollog sighed. "It's so hard to imagine that our immortalities are so similar to each other." He shook his head. "But that doesn't change the fact that the zerg population is decimated." He aggressively pointed at Kiln. "As we speak, our Kiln Keeper allies are scouring the irradiated sands for their remaining nests and burrows. It is only a matter of time till they finally face their extinction."
It was at that precise moment that a surveillance officer, talking through one of the holographic surveillance screens, intervened in Gollog's monologue. [Emperor Gollog, sir! Unusual activity has been detected!]
Gollog paused, breathed in a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, exhaled, paused again, and then he turned to face the screen that showed the face of the surveillance officer. "Report." Gollog growled in annoyance.
The surveillance officer nodded. [I'm receiving reports that the zerg slime is growing out of the cave entrances from every single infested zerg zone, with the exception of a few lightly infested areas.]
Gollog scoffed. "Then coordinate your efforts with the Kiln Keepers to burn away the slime nodes. With them gone, the slime will evaporate."
The surveillance officer rubbed the back of his head. [Um... About that, my emperor. The ENO sensor network isn't picking up any ENO frequencies being produced from a slime node. As such, the automated system that controls the energy lance orbital bombardment algorithm is not firing normally.]
Gollog narrowed his gaze. "... So the zerg slime is growing without the help of the slime nodes?"
[It would appear to be the case, sir.]
Gollog's face subtly twitched before he shook his head and hissed. "Then create a new algorithm. Have the energy lances and Kiln Keepers target the slime. Burn away this seeping filth from the roots!"
The surveillance officer shivered in fear, but saluted. [Understood, my emperor.]
Gollog turned to look at Kiln again. "... What are you planning this time, zerg?" Gollog asked, directed at no one while seething with spite.
Pallax sighed. "I suppose I shall man my station. Skrico, MEM shift me to my office."
[Command detected.] In an instant, a field of blue and white static surrounded General Pallax and made him disappear. Gollog sighed as he turned and observed Kiln once more. Gollog had a fixed gaze pointed toward that window, which showed a slowly turning image of Kiln that escaped his vision at a snail's pace. His immortality may have been brought into being through the use of invisible floating robots that projected his form through 'dream-light' projector technology, but he had never thought that Kay's immortality was supported through the ENO frequencies that the zerg produced.
Gollog suddenly dreaded the idea of meeting Kay again.
"Huh. So that was what the commotion was about?" Kragnon asked Kay.
They were currently seated on a dry bench that was retrieved from the flooded refugee camp. The toxic floodwater was slowly receding as the hours crawled by, and a few of the tented platforms that remained dry during the flood were quickly abandoned once the floodwater receded sufficiently. The feederlings were forced to imbibe the irradiated floodwater, which would produce a few feederlings before they succumbed to the radiation, turning into a clay-like flesh. The corpses were eaten by their surviving feederling spawn before they continued drinking the floodwater. Each new feederling spawn would be able to last a little bit longer than their previous predecessor through this reversed process of filial cannibalism. Hours before, a single feederling could spawn four or five feederlings before dying after drinking enough of the floodwater. As of that moment, a single feederling could spawn ten feederlings or more before it died, its flesh soon to be consumed. In essence, the feederlings were slowly developing a resistance to the irradiated floodwater.
Kay leaned back and groaned softly. "Yeah. I nearly died, but we got it covered. It was an insane battle too."
Kragnon shook his head and sighed. "Your day is certainly more hectic than mine in comparison."
Kay turned to Kragnon. "Really? Some shit went down on your end?"
Kragnon rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't put it as lightly as that. Tak fell from her rolling seat after a visiting refugee tried to gain an audience with her. I may have overreacted."
Kay narrowed his eyes at Kragnon. "In what way?"
Kragnon twitched one of his attack-claws on his back and pointed at it. "I threatened to slice his neck open with this appendage." Kragnon relaxed into his seat and sighed. "I noticed that, ever since my infestation, I have rather violent mood swings that happen as randomly as a coin flip. Like, if a zerg organism is experiencing anger, I'm also feeling and experiencing that anger too. It's the same way with me feeling anger, but it's superimposed on their feelings too. Anyway, after that incident, I found out later that the gilanian I threatened was summarily stalked and constantly ambushed by zerg. They didn't hurt him, but... it's like they were reminding him that he would always be hunted if he ever fell out of line like that again. Reminding him that that his actions carried consequences."
Kay nodded his head. "Ah. Classic swarm hivemind behavior. So I'm guessing this happened while I was fighting the omegazor?"
Kragnon shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose so."
Kay relaxed into his seat as well. "Yeah, well this is how it's like to retain your individuality within an ocean of shared consciousnesses. Many of the combat strains, drones, and bio-structures are simple-minded to a degree, while the zerg organisms that supply psionic control, or commands the swarm, tends to force their identity and will onto their minions and vassals. In that sense, you made yourself into a vassal of the Zerg Swarm on your own accord. You will be forced into sharing thoughts with the hivemind of the Swarm, even when you retained a large portion of your own individuality after your infestation. I'm guessing that my fight with the omegazor must have agitated all neighboring zerg as well. I was angry at the omegazor that was eating up our resources and units, and that anger must have seeped into your subconscious, making you lash out at that gilanian. As a result, it made the surrounding zerg angry at the gilanian for no other quantifiable reason."
kragnon nodded and sighed. "Yeah."
After a long pause of silence, Kay decided to change the subject. "... So how's the wife and kids? How are they adjusting to your choice to infest yourself and join our Swarm?" Kay asked.
Kragnon grumbled. "Not very well. My son, Kragak, is dead set on ignoring me. Jak and Zak are asking me so many questions that I don't know how to answer them all."
Kay furrowed his brows. "Wait. Who's Jak and Zak?"
Kragnon turned to Kay. "My two daughters? I thought you knew this already."
Kay shook his head. "I might be tapped into the psionic hivemind, but I'm not omnipotent." Kay chuckled to himself. "Huh... It's weird."
"What is?" Asked Kragnon.
"That after all this time, I didn't even ask for the names of your daughters." Kay replied. "Now I kind of feel like an asshole."
Kragnon hissed as he rolled his eyes. "Only a little bit."
"So which one is Zak and which one is Jak?" Kay asked.
"My daughter with the darker red trimmings in her clothes is Jak. The other wears a lighter color of red trimmings with her clothes." Kragnon answered.
Kay nodded. "Ah... They have rather boyish sounding names."
Kragnon scoffed. "They have single syllable names. It's perfectly normal for gilanians to name their child with their syllable gender. What kind of girl names does your culture have?"
Kay brought up his hand. "Eh... From the top of my head, there is Jenifer, Jessica, Sam, Anne, Elizabeth, Michelle, Olivia, Penelope, Ariana, Alexandra, Annabella, Magdalena, and... Andromeda."
Kragnon's eyes widened. "Some of those girl names sound powerful. And I can't help noticing that a lot of those names end with an 'ah' sound at the end."
Kay nodded. "You could say that cultural naming conventions for humans are a little more relaxed, compared to your way of naming your children and yourselves. Hell, some cultures of humanity add an 'ette' sounding syllable to some of their names. Naturally, our human minds seem to fall into thinking that it is somehow feminine. No matter how different one society might be when compared to another, there will always be an exchange of culture between the two, should they ever come together."
Kragnon chuckled. "Human society sounds far nicer than gilanian society. Even if you aren't quite human anymore."
Kay shook hid head. "Quite the opposite. Humans war among themselves pretty regularly, oftentimes over resources or some kind of territory dispute." Kay turned to Kragnon. "It's rare for cultures to exchange with each other. More often than not, they clash. It's a sad and infallible truth we are forced to live with."
"... Ah." Kragnon replied.
An uncomfortable silence passed between Kay and Kragnon. However, that silence was disturbed when a third party intruded. "So when is this clashing going to stop?"
Kay and Kragnon turned to see Kragak approaching them. Kragnon blinked a few times as he gestured to Kragak. "Son. What brings you here?"
Kragak pointed at Kragnon and hissed. "Not talking to you, dad." He then gestured to Kay. "When are the zerg going to stop clashing with us?"
Kay furrowed his brow. "Uh... I'm sorry, but what do you mean?"
Kragak pointed at the glowing lake that flooded the refugee camp. "Ever since the zerg came to this world twenty years ago, you have done nothing but war against Golden Star and the Kiln Keepers that joined sides with them. But even as you warred, you failed to take into consideration on how your war had affected everyone else. This radioactive flooding was your fault because you pushed Gollog into unleashing it in the first place."
"Kragak!" Kragnon shouted as he stood up and faced his son.
Kay stared at Kragak for a few seconds before sighing. "Oh, I know that instigating the fight between the zerg and Golden Star is my fault. Had I been a little nicer, we may have avoided the entire war altogether." Kay frowned. "But even if I had acted differently, or done something else during the first time I met Gollog, everything could have probably been changed for the better. Baroness Tak could have been friends with Ponpon, Golden Star would reform its military to become less oppressive to its people, and perhaps everyone could have worked together to find out why Kiln was designed to imprison an entire population in the first place.
Kay then stood up and turned to Kragak. "But by changing those parts of history, it would cause drastic affects to the procession of events. Gollog would assume that your mother was joining sides with the leader of a notorious gang of bandits, your father would still be stuck in a cold-pod within a shryik serpent infested village hidden underground, and you would never had been born."
Kragak wanted to say a retort to Kay. However, even as he opened his mouth, nothing came out.
Kay stared at Kragak with a straight face. "And you are right. It was me and my Swarm's fault that many of Gargantua Citadel's people died."
A long pause passed between Kragak and Kay. There was an eerie stillness that clung to the air between the son of an infested lovechief and the infested terran overcommander of the Zerg Swarm. Kay made it clear to Kragak that the floodwater was his fault, and that he had no control when the downpour began.
Kay gestured to Kragnon. "You should be more appreciative of what your father had done. It was because of him that there are still gilanian survivors that survived the flood. If he hadn't evacuated the residents of Gargantua to the underground caverns my zerg had carved for you and your mother's refugees, then we wouldn't be having this conversation at all.
Kay sighed. "However, once this day is done, I will do everything in my power to ensure that the gilanian people would never have to interact with the zerg ever again. You have my word on that."
Kragak paused for a few seconds. "... You really mean that?"
Kay nodded. "Once I removed Gollog from his seat of power, I'll see if I can find a way out of Kiln's prison system. Once we find an exit, we'll part ways and leave Kiln. In your case, possibly for good."
Kragak nodded. "... Alright. That sounds good. ... I mean... That sounds good for everyone that is still alive."
Kay shrugged his shoulders. "Well... Except for Gollog and everyone in his empire. My swarm is still going to kill and eat everyone that follows that asshole."
"Yeah, I don't really care what happens to those empire idiots." However, after a few seconds, Kragak paled. "Wait... You said you'll eat everyone. Like, EVERYONE everyone in Gollog's empire?! Does that mean... you'll even eat their children?!"
Kay scoffed as he smirked and shook his head. "Oh no no no, I won't eat their children! I don't even eat children! ..." Kay then paused before he clasped his chin and scratched it in thought. "But then again... I wonder if gilanian eggs could be cracked and fried on a skillet?"
Kragak gagged. "Oh gods! That's sick!" Kragak then proceeded to turn and run away.
Once Kragak skittered away, Kragnon went back to his spot on the bench. A tired sigh escaped his lungs. "I apologize. I don't know what got into him."
Kay rolled his eyes. "He's probably having a hard time adjusting to the underground, what with being forced to stay in his mother's tent, having to evacuate from his palace, and witnessing so much death in such a short amount of time. Plus, he looks about to be the age of a teenager. He can't really control his teen angst."
Kragnon sighed. "I suppose. ..." Kragnon then placed his hands onto his face. "Oh gods... I don't know how to raise my family anymore. They put on brave faces when I'm in their presence, but I can see, smell, and feel the fear behind their eyes. They grew up with the image of a healthy version of me for a such long time, but they fail to see the fact that I am still him. I am still Kragnon. Aren't I?"
Kay sighed as he sat back down on the bench and patted Kragnon's back. "Being infested with the HEV does that, Kragnon. You lose the trust of your loved ones once you lose yourself into the hivemind."
Kragnon didn't know what to say to Kay, so he kept quiet. Kay could feel that Kragnon was suffering through a difficult patch with his family. Even when his spouse, children, and a fraction of Citadel Gargantua's population had survived, it was because of the deal he made with Corvurn that he had to sacrifice his health for their survival. The identity of the father was kept secret from the public for a long while, due to Gentle Giant Ponpon's criminal intent on overthrowing the barony of Gargantua, including Tak's rule of her citadel. And if word got out regarding Kragnon's deal to save Gargantua's population at the cost of being infested, especially after the surviving refugee population suffered through the irradiated flooding? Panic and outrage would corrode the already tenuous control that Baroness Tak has over her people.
Kay sighed as he got up from the bench. "If it makes you feel better, we'll hold a tribunal for Gollog's trial. Don't bring your kids though. The execution will be overwhelmingly violent. ... Hmm?"
Kay then paused before he suddenly looked up to the roof of the cavern. Kragnon tilted his head. "Uh... Is something the matter?"
Kay growled. "Gollog realized we're spreading our creep again." Kay turned to Kragnon, seriousness hardening his posture and expression. "I think it's time we finally doubled down and fight with all we got." Kay looked up at the ceiling again. 'Virid. Have you gathered the remaining broodmothers?'
'Yes, Overcommander.' Virid replied. 'I have noticed that the creep is being targeted by the Kiln Keepers and the sky rings' lasers.'
'Which means we have very little time until the Kiln Keepers amass enough numbers to overwhelm us. We need to form a war council to decide how we'll strategize against the Kiln Keepers and the remnants of Golden Star Empire.'
'I'm coming too.' Kay turned around to see that Kragnon was listening into his mental conversation.
Kay paused for a few seconds before smirking. "You sure you want to fight with us?"
Kragnon nodded. "You and I share the same enemy. All I want is a piece of the action, and a front row seat when the axe drops on Gollog's neck."
Kay smiled and nodded. "Then follow me, Lieutenant Kragnon. Let's serve ourselves a nice helping heap of revenge. Served best when cold."
And so, Kay began to lead Kragnon away from the slowly receding lake of irradiated floodwater, and toward a violent war. Kay and Virid's brood would go to war against the sky itself.
A/N: Major battle, incoming! Also, what kind of symbiote would Superman have?